I am thinking of renting a car but not sure on the conditions of RI and my personal driving style. I am from southern California and I have a tendency of speeding, a strong tendency. Do people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts drive slow or haul ass? I have heard of the aggressiveness of people in Boston and their driving along with the people in New York but what about the surrounding areas? Are the police tight with the speed laws or a little loose? May sound like an absolutlely stupid question but I quite frankly do not want to come home with a speeding ticket. Does Rhode Island and Massachusetts have a lot of one way traffic flows or are they usually traditional two way streets especially around the Rhode Island capital? One ways are suppose to ease congestion but the street I need to turn onto is the one indicated with world's tinniest sign covered by a tree or bush set off to side and if you miss it you have to go a million miles out in circles to try your luck again. This is my first time on the east coast and I would like to explore as much as I can but you cannot teach an old dog new tricks overnight. Any suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated and please no smart ass remarks like "I would not like to have you on my road" because I would already gather that some people would not agree with speeding at all anyway, which is fine.
Driving in MA and RI can be sumed up in one word. "Interesting". Speeding is a norm in the area, and you'll fit right in. MA highway speed limit is 65, but RI is still 55. For the most part you can get away with it but there might be an increased speed traps due too the upcoming holiday. If you don't go over 10mph over the limit you're good. Traffic can be a pain in both Providence and Boston. If your headed to Boston for a side trip I wouldn't even drive in. It has a lot of one way streets and can be very confusing if you don't know the city, plus parking is expensive and hard to find, and traffic is heavy except late at night or early morning. Providence is a little bit better driving in and as long as you stay to the main roads you shouldn't have a problem. Traffic is heavy at times. Having a GPS in the car would help a lot with the street. RI drives are the worst in the country, with MA coming in very close to them. It's almost a " Eat or be eaten" attitude here. People will cut you off, and won't use directionals. Disregard for other human life while driving is the norm. Saying "I would not like to have you on my road." would be a joke out here cause there are already people 10x worse than you if your only fault is speeding. We are called MAssholes for a reason.
Wow! I always heard about people in Boston using the turnoff lanes on the sides of freeways as actual lanes and that cutting off people was the norm. Highway Patrol out my way would allow people to speed up to about 80 but clamp down after that some are a little anal with only 65. You are right about the 4th coming up and increased police presence but hell I would look like a law abiding citizen from your description of people out there. Is there rapid transit into Boston or around MA and RI like the BART system out here in the Bay Area? Is transportation costs reasonable?
I am from Connecticut. It is ironic that a post like this pops up, as I was contemplating making a thread to discuss con organizers picking cities with major construction issues. Chicago was like this in 2003. I drove through Providence yesterday, and was amazed at the chaos. They are literally re-arranging the interstates. On the other hand, I spotted a strip bar called Cheaters on the waterfront. In MA, driving in the breakdown lane is legal monday-friday during commuter hours. I thought rush hour in New Haven or Hartford was bad, but we got nothing on beantown.
Not old enough to go to one but trust me there are like 3 in a 15 minutes driving distance if you know your way around.
